It's Turbolift Time
by Deanna Riker
Summary: A light hearted parody of the "Two characters get stuck in a lift..." genre. JC.


Disclaimer. Voyager and it's characters are all owned by Paramount. I read somewhere that all J/C writers are supposed to do one of these at sometime so here's mine. Thanks and big hugs again to my beta readers Charlotte and Gemma. I wrote this about two years ago, so please be kind when reviewing!  
  
It's Turbolift Time.  
  
Captain Kathryn Janeway walked down the corridors of her ship. It was first thing in the morning and she was on her way to the bridge, just like she'd done every day since coming aboard.  
  
She walked by Chakotay's quarters just as he was leaving. Chakotay didn't see her and almost knocked her over.  
  
"Sorry, I didn't see you there." he said as she brushed herself down.  
  
"That's ok." She replied.  
  
They walked down the corridor, into the turbolift and rode the turbolift together in a comfortable silence until the turbolift suddenly jerked and sent them both flying.  
  
Even though the lights had gone out and it was pitch black inside the turbolift, Kathryn knew almost instantly that when she had fallen, Chakotay had grabbed her to stop her hurting herself and now had his arms around her waist.  
  
She felt shivers shoot through her body at his touch. She sprang away from him trying desperately to put some distance between them.  
  
"Janeway to Torres." She said slapping her commbadge as the emergency lighting started up.  
  
"Torres here." she said.  
  
"What's wrong with turbolift 1? It seems to have stopped, the lights have gone out and myself and Commander Chakotay are stuck in here." Kathryn said beginning to get irritated.  
  
"There seems to be a malfunction with that turbolift, I'll get someone to fix it, just stay put. Torres out." B'Elanna replied desperately trying not to laugh.  
  
"So... what shall we do to pass the time?" he asked.  
  
"Don't know." she replied. Just keep away from me, she thought as she tried to move further away from him.  
  
They sat on the floor and stayed silent for about five minutes until Chakotay broke the silence.  
  
"Kathryn, is it me or is it getting hot in here?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know what you mean." she replied. Of course it's getting hot in here, you're in here with me and it's driving me insane! she added in her head.  
  
"Surely you've noticed, the temperature must have gone up 2, maybe 3, degrees in the last couple of minutes." he replied, puzzled at her response.  
  
"I suppose now that I think about it, it is a bit warmer in here, maybe you should check with B'Elanna." she replied.  
  
"Ok," he slaps his commbadge. "Chakotay to Torres."  
  
"Torres here, what can I do for you, Chakotay?" she asked.  
  
"Well, it seems to be getting awful warm in here. Is there another problem?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, there is a bit of a problem. I was about to warn you and the Captain that it was about to get a bit warm in there." She said stifling a giggle.  
  
"Dare I ask why?" he asked aspirated.  
  
"Two stupid ensigns somehow managed to knock out environmental control in that section. I'll get it restored as soon as I can, in the meantime try to move around as little as possible." She replied, nearly laughing.  
  
"B'Elanna, is there any chance of getting us out of here soon? I have a lot to do and I can't afford to be stuck in a faulty turbolift for half the morning." Janeway said, clearly annoyed.  
  
"I'll do my best, Captain, just hang in there a while longer. Torres out." She replied, close to laughing.  
  
Ten minutes later it had gotten even warmer. Chakotay had removed his jacket and T-shirt and was sat in his tank top and trousers. Kathryn, however, hadn't removed any clothes and was absolutely boiling.  
  
Chakotay shifted position on the floor to stop his legs becoming cramped and accidentally brushed his arm against Kathryn's body.  
  
"Kathryn, are you ok? You feel awfully hot, maybe you should remove your jacket." He suggested.  
  
"No, I'm ok." She replied sharply.  
  
"Fine." He said.  
  
He reached across and placed his hand on Kathryn's forehead. It was hot and dripping with sweat. He removed his hand.  
  
"You're not ok, you're burning up! If you don't take your jacket off you'll end up dehydrated." He said.  
  
"Fine, I'll take it off if it'll shut you up." she said sharply whilst removing her jacket.  
  
Silence again descended between the pair, until the turbolift suddenly jerked again. It caught them off guard and Kathryn shrieked as she went crashing into Chakotay again.  
  
When the turbolift stopped moving Chakotay found himself flat on his back with Kathryn lying on top of him, her face inches from his. He tried to speak but was momentarily struck dumb. When he finally managed to speak it came out breathlessly.  
  
"We have to stop meeting like this." He said trying to make light of the situation they were now in.  
  
"True. People might start to talk." She replied, grinning at him.  
  
"Do you get the feeling we've been set up?" he asked.  
  
"So you heard B'Elanna fighting not to laugh too?" she replied.  
  
"Yeah. I bet Tom put her up to it." he said.  
  
"Probably, but you have to admit it's kind of sweet." She replied.  
  
"Mmm..." he said distractedly.  
  
Kathryn noticed the evil glint in his eyes. Half of her was terrified while the other half desperately wanted to say "To hell with it" and kiss him. In the end, that half won.  
  
As Kathryn lent forward and kissed him, Chakotay could hardly believe his luck. Thanks Tom he thought as they kissed passionately.  
  
They were both so engrossed in the kiss that neither noticed as the turbolift began to move again. That was until the doors opened onto the bridge.  
  
Hearing the turbolift doors open but not close, Tom looked behind him. He couldn't believe his eyes. His plan had worked.  
  
By this time the rest of the bridge had noticed their commanding officers locked in a passionate embrace on the turbolift floor.  
  
Tom glance over at his friend at ops and saw that Harry looked like he was about to faint. Tom heard a noise from the other side of the bridge and turned to see Tuvok clearing his throat.  
  
Kathryn heard the noise as she broke the kiss and looked around her. She couldn't believe it; they were on the bridge. She almost died. What could she do now? She did the only thing she could think of; she jumped up, ran across the bridge and into her ready room, locking the doors as soon as they closed behind her.  
  
Tom looked over at Chakotay who was still trying to work out what had happened. The poor guy looks heartbroken, Tom thought, and it's all that stupid Vulcan's fault! The Captain will probably never speak to Chakotay again after this!  
  
Chakotay picked himself off the floor and walked across the bridge. He could feel the eyes of everyone in the room watching him. He stopped before the door to the Captain's ready room and pressed the chime. When she didn't answer he tried again and again.  
  
After about the fifth time of trying he finally got a reply.  
  
"Leave me alone!" she shrieked from behind the closed doors.  
  
Chakotay could tell by the sound of her voice that she was either in tears or close to. He decided he couldn't leave her in that state so he keyed in the override code she had given him years ago. The doors opened and he stepped inside.  
  
She looked up as he entered. Her eyes were red and puffy and tears ran down her cheeks.  
  
"Kathryn, we need to talk about what happened." He said gently.  
  
"How am I going to face them?" she asked.  
  
"It's ok, all the crew's bothered about is your happiness." He said.  
  
"But I can't let this happen..." she replied.  
  
"Yes you can, if it's what you want." He replied.  
  
"You know it is." She said.  
  
"Then what's stopping you?" he asked.  
  
"Fear." She replied honestly.  
  
"Overcome that fear." He replied gently.  
  
"I'll try." She replied.  
  
They kissed. Both knew that it would not be easy but both were determined to make it work and that was all that really mattered. 


End file.
